Abstract

Immunoregulation is attributed, at least in part, to suppressor cells of the T compartment (1). In this respect, it has been suggested that suppressor cells emerging in ontogeny may play a role in establishment of tolerance to self (2,3). By the same token the possibility that failure of immunological functions in senescence may be brought about by alterations in specific suppressor mechanisms has been considered (4,5). Accordingly, lowered avidity and affinity of antibodies produced in aging seem to be causally related to the status of suppressor cells (6,7). On the other hand, the mechanisms underlying lowered specificity of the antibodies (8) and of effector T cell functions (9) in aging have not yet been elucidated. One may thus wonder as to whether the reduced specificity is actually manifested at the suppressor level.